: My mother experiences dizzy spells where she feels like everything is draining from her head and she is going to faint on a daily basis. It almost always happens right after she eats so she thinks it is related to her blood sugar and/or insulin. (However, her doctor says it's not possible for blood sugar to cause such symptoms, but he can not tell her what IS causing her symptoms.) Does anyone have any information about this or does anyone experience similiar symptoms? I greatly appreciate your help.

How old is your mother? One of the most common age related causes of dizziness is BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Postional Vertigo) that comes about when you move your head into certain positions, examples, lying down or rolling over in bed. One of the major reasons for this are calcium crystals that normally reside in the hair cells that detect gravity break loose and float into the inner ear. There could also be another problem with her inner ear.

Does she have any ringing in her ears, ear pressure, hearing loss, nausea and/or vomiting. If so, there is a possibility of Meniere's Disease.

Since she has this problem after eating, it could point to a blockage in one or more carotid arteries that supply blood to the brain or a possible heart problem. This would give her the fainting feeling. More blood is channeled to the stomach and digestive system after eating and along with a partial blockage of the carotid arteries or a heart problem would be more likely to bring on the fainting feeling after eating. Diabetes is a risk factor for heart disease.

A blood sugar fall-off from taking too much insulin can cause faintness.

In other words, there could be many reasons for what your mother is experiencing.

I would suggest you get a second opinion. If it is related to her diabetes, the best type of doctor is an endocrinologist. If it is related to blockage in the carotid arteries, then the best type of doctor is a neurologist. If it is related to her heart, then the best type of doctor would be a cardiologist. If it involves her inner ear, then an eye, ear, nose and throat doctor specialist would be the best doctor. I would start off with the endocrinologist since, yes, it could be related to how much insulin she is taking.

By the way, I am not a doctor although I do a lot of heart patient support work and associate with heart surgeons and cardiologists. My information comes from a medical magazine article written by a doctor that I just read this evening which deals with the possibilities of dizziness and fainting spells.